After Switzerland ended negotiations with the EU on a new framework agreement, a parliamentary group of Socialist Party members is pushing for Switzerland to become a member of the EU, according to the newspaper Le Matin. The parliamentary group, which has the support of the party’s leadership, argues that full membership of the bloc is […]
Swiss president warns EU against reprisal after collapsed negotiation
Last week, negotiations between Switzerland and the EU ended after failure to find agreement on key elements of a deal governing the relationship between Switzerland and the bloc. Over the weekend, Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin defended the abrupt break in negotiations and sent a clear message to EU strategists in Brussels. Speaking to the newspaper […]
Swiss passport one of the most powerful in 2021
The Henley Passport Index ranks all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. Without taking temporary restrictions into account, Japan continues to hold the number one position on the index, with passport holders able to access 191 destinations around the world visa-free. This marks the […]
Terror attack in Vienna linked to Winterthur
Following the terrorist attack in Vienna this week, Swiss and Austrian authorities have been in contact following the arrest of two Swiss in Winterthur, a hotbed of radicalisation in Switzerland, according to RTS. Intelligence services, police and judicial authorities from both nations have been working together to look at the case. The An’ Nur mosque […]
Switzerland to give nothing to the Lebanese government
Monika Schmutz, Switzerland’s ambassador in Lebanon has categorically excluded providing financial aid to the Lebanese government fearing a corrupt government would spend it inappropriately, according to RTS. Instead Switzerland will send money via aid agencies, as it has already done to the Lebanese Red Cross. The ambassador was in her office overlooking the port when […]
Coronavirus: Switzerland plans to lift all restrictions on Schengen movement
Switzerland’s Federal Council plans to lift all travel restrictions and re-establish free movement of persons across the Schengen area no later than 6 July 2020 and possibly as early as mid June, it announced today. If the epidemiological evolution allows, restrictions on entering, working and living in Switzerland will be lifted for all Schengen states […]
Coronavirus: Switzerland sets date for fully reopened borders with Germany, Austria and France
On 13 May 2020, Karin Keller-Sutter, Switzerland’s ministerial head of police and justice, said Switzerland is aiming to fully reopen borders between Germany, Austria and France on 15 June 2020. After discussions with her counterparts in these three countries she said there was a common will to return to normal as quickly as possible including […]
Number of coronavirus cases continues to grow in Switzerland
This afternoon, Switzerland’s health authority announced a fifth person in Switzerland had contracted the new coronavirus Covid-19. The announcement follows another this morning announcing three new cases. The latest case involves a man in the canton of Aargau who arrived back in Switzerland after spending time in northern Italy. Like the others he has been […]
Switzerland confirms three new coronavirus cases
One person in the canton of Geneva and two in the canton of Graubünden recently tested positive for the new coronavirus Covid-19, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) announced this morning. All three, who are in good health, are being treated in hospital isolation units. These three new cases bring the total number of people […]
Switzerland announces first coronavirus case
A man in his 70s in the canton of Ticino has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, according to a statement by Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). The man, who has been isolated in a clinic in the city of Lugano, is the first person in Switzerland to have tested positive for the […]
